Psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that a “phone-based childhood” has reshaped adolescence, fueling a global rise in anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal since the early 2010s. In an interview highlighted by Stossel TV, Haidt linked smartphones and social media to what he calls “The Great Rewiring of Childhood,” with sharp declines in sleep, exercise, and time with friends. His bestselling book The Anxious Generation has helped catalyze school bans on phones and inspired parent movements across the developed world. Haidt warns the harms differ by gender, teen girls show higher rates of anxiety and self-harm, while boys risk social stagnation into adulthood. “Technology as a tool is fantastic,” Haidt said, “but now the phone is not a Swiss Army knife, now it’s a slot machine.” He proposes four norms: no smartphones before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools, and a return to free play.
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The Final Settlement podcast recently tackled Thailand’s unfolding banking crisis, where reports of “nefarious activities” led to broad account freezes, raising fears of capital controls dressed as crime prevention. Hosts warned that even solvent clients risk being caught in “a net meant for criminals,” highlighting Bitcoin’s role as “outside money” immune to single-counterparty failure. They connected the theme to Nepal’s youth-led revolt, where censorship of social media spurred mass adoption of Jack Dorsey’s Bit Chat for coordination, ultimately helping protesters oust a government via a Discord vote. The episode also covered Harvard Business Review’s cautious endorsement of Bitcoin in portfolios, Gemini’s public listing backed by NASDAQ, and debates over the recent appeal for tokenized securities. With stablecoins facing margin compression and Tether launching a US-regulated dollar token, the hosts argue that resilient infrastructure will inevitably drive demand for Bitcoin in both savings and payments.
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Ramil Ventura Palafox, chief executive of Praetorian Group International, has pleaded guilty in Virginia to wire fraud and money laundering tied to a $200 million Bitcoin Ponzi scheme, as reported by Decrypt. Prosecutors said Palafox lured more than 90,000 investors with promises of daily returns up to 3% through a nonexistent Bitcoin trading program. At least $62.7 million was lost, while Palafox diverted funds to purchase luxury cars, homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and designer goods. From 2019 to 2021, the firm collected more than 8,100 Bitcoin alongside $30 million in fiat. Analysts likened Praetorian to “a textbook Ponzi scheme MLM structure” akin to BitConnect or OneCoin. While sentencing is set for February 2026 with a potential 40-year term, observers clarify that the case highlights fraud rather than flaws in Bitcoin, underscoring the need for financial literacy and some regulatory cooperation.
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Blockworks reports MoneyGram has launched a USDC-based mobile app in Colombia, positioning stablecoins as a tool to modernize cross-border remittances. The app, built on an alt coin with wallet support from Crossmint, lets customers receive money directly into a USD balance, which can then be spent, stored, or withdrawn via MoneyGram’s global network of nearly 500,000 outlets. Colombia was chosen for its outsized reliance on inbound remittances, where families receive more than 22 times what they send abroad. CEO Anthony Soohoo called the rollout “the first step toward a world where every person, everywhere, has access to dollar stablecoins.” MoneyGram has been experimenting with blockchain rails since 2021, but this marks its largest consumer-facing initiative. While oversight of stablecoins remains unsettled, the company cited the new U.S. GENIUS Act as offering regulatory clarity and a pathway to expansion into other remittance-heavy markets.
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